Be - Rev. Steve Gillam - July 12, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Rejecting Armor to Embrace Your True Identity

David stood immobilized under Saul’s heavy armor – a picture of how worldly expectations suffocate divine purpose. The shepherd boy refused borrowed prestige, choosing instead the sling of his authentic calling. Like snowsuit-bound children, we often let others strap us with ill-fitting identities. True power comes not from external validation but from the quiet confidence of being God’s beloved. This story invites us to shed what others say we "should" be. Freedom begins when we walk unencumbered as our created selves. [33:33]

Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. “I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Goliath.
(1 Samuel 17:38-40, NIV)

Reflection: What "armor" have others tried to strap onto you that doesn’t fit your God-given identity? How might removing it free you to face your giants authentically?

Day 2: The Radical "I Am" That Defines Us

Before David’s stone flew, Moses stood barefoot at a burning bush hearing God’s eternal "I AM." This verb-shaped identity – dynamic, uncontainable – echoes through Jesus’ seven "I AM" declarations. Our culture sells static labels, but God offers becoming. Like David rejecting Saul’s armor, we’re called to shed noun-based identities (achiever, victim, influencer) for the verb of God’s ongoing presence. You aren’t what you do – you’re who God is becoming through you. [36:44]

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation."
(Exodus 3:14-15, NIV)

Reflection: When have you reduced yourself to a noun (e.g., "failure," "caregiver," "lonely")? How might embracing God’s "I AM" as your source change how you move through today?

Day 3: The Shepherd’s Stones of Ordinary Faith

Five smooth stones from a brook became giantslayers. David didn’t seek special weapons but trusted God’s work in his ordinary tools. Our culture glorifies the novel and spectacular, yet God often uses what’s been worn smooth by daily faithfulness – a kind word practiced for years, quiet generosity honed through small acts. Like David’s stones, your weathered virtues hold divine potential when wielded from your core identity. [30:17]

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
(1 Samuel 16:7, NIV)

Reflection: What ordinary "stones" in your life (skills, relationships, daily practices) might God want to use extraordinarily if offered with trusting hands?

Day 4: When Kings Offer Armor (And Why To Decline)

Saul’s armor wasn’t evil – it was just someone else’s story. The king projected his warrior narrative onto David, unable to imagine victory through shepherd’s tools. Well-meaning people still try to clothe us in their unmet dreams and fears. But borrowed identities chafe. David’s refusal teaches us to honor others’ intentions while firmly declaring, “This isn’t me.” True belonging means being seen in God’s image, not others’ projections. [35:02]

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
(Galatians 1:10, NIV)

Reflection: Whose expectations have you been wearing like ill-fitting armor? What one step could you take today to move more freely in God’s design for you?

Day 5: Giant-Slaying Starts With Lunch Duty

David arrived at the battlefield delivering cheese sandwiches, not seeking glory. Our culture obsesses over slaying giants, but God often prepares us through humble service. Before facing Goliath, David tended sheep and ran errands. The Friday breakfast crew and Sunday supper teams embody this truth – faithful people showing up with soup ladles instead of swords. Your daily acts of love are training ground for holy courage. [32:32]

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
(Luke 16:10, NIV)

Reflection: What simple, unseen act of service in your life might be God’s preparation for something greater? How does approaching mundane tasks as holy training change their meaning?

Sermon Summary

The David and Goliath story is one of those stories almost everybody knows, maybe from Sunday school, maybe with a little bit of the graphic and gory parts softened. The story usually gets told as something David did: David kills Goliath, a humble shepherd outwits a mighty warrior, a young person does what no adult seemed able to do. David’s courage and good aim matter, and the story has carried his greatness for centuries because God was with him and because David would become king in the golden age of his people’s history.

The story also comes out of a world that knew war, and war stories usually get told by the ones who won. God’s kingdom presses another vision against that old way of telling history, because victory still leaves pain, loss, and sorrow. The cry “thy kingdom come” belongs beside every call for peace, every longing for a way of being together without slaughter, colonization, and war.

The decisive turn comes ten verses before the smooth stone drops Goliath. David’s greatness is not first about what David did. David’s greatness is about who David is. David shows up on lunch duty and finds his brothers afraid, the whole army afraid, and the king afraid. David asks questions, hears why no one is moving, and says, “I’ll do it.” David receives all kinds of reasons why he cannot, but David answers with the one reason why he can: God is with him.

Saul’s armor becomes the great picture of the wrong kind of help. Saul thinks the best requires the best, so David gets loaded down with the king’s armor, heavy metal on arms and legs, breastplate, helmet, sword, like a Canadian kid stuffed into a giant puffy snowsuit who is warm but cannot move. David takes it all off because it is not who he is. David’s no says, “I am me. I am a child of God. With God, I am enough.”

The same pressure still speaks through the world and sometimes from inside a person: this is who has to be, this is what has to be done, this is what has to be worn, owned, or performed in order to be somebody. God’s beloved answer says no. The feeding ministries, the breakfasts, the Sunday suppers, and the humble service are good things, but those works do not define the church. God’s grace and love define God’s beloved people, and that belovedness becomes love, forgiveness, hope, peace, justice, and yes, something pretty awesome.

Key Takeaways

1. Being comes before doing. David’s act is not erased, but the deeper question is not what David managed to do. The story turns on who David knows himself to be before God. Courage grows from beloved identity, not from the need to prove greatness. [30:17]
2. Saul’s armor cannot name David. Saul’s armor looks like strength, but it makes David unable to move. The wrong identity can feel protective while quietly becoming a weight. David’s freedom begins when he takes off what does not belong to him. [33:33]
3. God’s presence makes enoughness possible. David does not deny skill, practice, or hard work. David simply refuses to let those gifts become the root of his confidence. The one reason beneath every other reason is that God is with him. [32:49]
4. Service flows from belovedness. The church’s feeding, serving, building, and speaking out are good, but they are not the source of identity. Service becomes humble and life-giving when it rises from grace instead of from the need to be impressive. God’s beloved people work because love has already named them. [31:15]
5. God’s “I Am” grounds identity. God’s name to Moses is not a label that can be managed or reduced. “I am who I am” reveals being itself as the source from which human identity receives its truth. Jesus’ “I am” sayings carry that same divine depth into bread, light, shepherding, resurrection, way, truth, life, and vine. [36:44]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[26:49] - David and Goliath, the Familiar Story
[27:13] - What Is the Story Really About?
[28:38] - War, Victory, Pain, and Loss
[29:34] - Thy Kingdom Come and Peace
[30:17] - Not What David Did, But Who David Is
[31:15] - Humble Service and Beloved Identity
[32:32] - David Shows Up on Lunch Duty
[33:33] - Saul’s Armor and the Puffy Snowsuit
[34:40] - David Says No to False Identity
[35:57] - Moses, the Burning Bush, and “I Am”
[37:10] - Jesus’ Seven “I Am” Statements
[37:49] - David’s Greatness as Faithful Being
[38:25] - Love, Forgiveness, Hope, Peace, Justice

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- 1 Samuel 17:38-40 (NIV): “Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. ‘I cannot go in these,’ he said to Saul, ‘because I am not used to them.’ So he took them off. Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.”
- Exodus 3:14 (NIV): “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I am has sent me to you.”’”
- John 6:35 (NIV): “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’”

Observation Questions

What reason does David give for refusing Saul’s armor, and what does this reveal about his understanding of himself? ([34:40])
How does God’s response to Moses at the burning bush (“I am who I am”) contrast with human attempts to define identity through achievements or roles? ([36:44])
In the sermon, what comparison is made between Saul’s armor and a “puffy snowsuit”? What does this illustrate about societal expectations? ([33:33])

Interpretation Questions

Why might David’s refusal to wear Saul’s armor be seen as a rejection of false identity, and how does this connect to the idea of “being before doing”?
How does Jesus’ claim, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35), deepen the understanding of God’s role as the source of our identity?
The sermon states, “Service flows from belovedness.” How does this principle challenge common cultural views that tie self-worth to productivity or success?

Application Questions

What “armor” (expectations, roles, or labels) have you felt pressured to wear to feel accepted or valuable? How can you practice saying “no” to these in order to embrace your identity as God’s beloved? ([34:40])
When have you felt tempted to base your confidence on skills, achievements, or others’ approval instead of God’s presence? What practical step could help you root your worth in “I am with you” this week?
The sermon mentions humble acts like feeding ministries as expressions of identity, not self-validation. How can you engage in service this month in a way that flows from being loved rather than proving worth? ([31:15])
Reflect on Jesus’ “I am” statements (e.g., “I am the light of the world”). Which one resonates most with your current struggles or needs? How might focusing on this truth reshape your daily choices?
David asked questions and listened before acting ([32:32]). Where in your life do you need to pause, ask questions, and discern God’s call instead of rushing to “do” something?

Sermon Clips

58s

#IAmChildOfGod

“Now, we may never have had a king give us his armor to wear, but we do live in a world externally and sometimes internally that says, this is who you need to be. This is what you need to do in order to be somebody. This is what you have to look like in order to be somebody. This is what you need to have in order to be somebody. This is how you should act if you want to be somebody. David said no, and we say no. I am a child of God, and with God, I am enough.”

81s

#ShedTheArmor

“And David says, I don't need all of this stuff. That's not who I am. He takes everything off. I don't need it because it's not me. I am me. I am a child of God. I Now, we may never have had a king give us his armor to wear, but we do live in a world externally and sometimes internally that says, this is who you need to be. This is what you need to do in order to be somebody. This is what you have to look like in order to be somebody. This is what you need to have in order to be somebody. This is how you should act if you want to be somebody. David said no, and we say no. I am a child of God, and with God, I am enough.”

71s

#TrueSelfNotArmor

“He takes everything off. I don't need it because it's not me. I am me. I am a child of God. I Now, we may never have had a king give us his armor to wear, but we do live in a world externally and sometimes internally that says, this is who you need to be. This is what you need to do in order to be somebody. This is what you have to look like in order to be somebody. This is what you need to have in order to be somebody. This is how you should act if you want to be somebody. David said no, and we say no. I am a child of God, and with God, I am enough.”

75s

#BelovedAndAwesome

“Now, we may never have had a king give us his armor to wear, but we do live in a world externally and sometimes internally that says, this is who you need to be. This is what you need to do in order to be somebody. This is what you have to look like in order to be somebody. This is what you need to have in order to be somebody. This is how you should act if you want to be somebody. David said no, and we say no. I am a child of God, and with God, I am enough. In fact, I am awesome. You are awesome. Not because of what we did, of what we do, but who we are.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Wall Street United Church This sermon · AI assistant

How does identity as God's beloved shape action?

What does saying I am imply for believers?

When should Christians refuse cultural armor and expectations?

Be - Rev. Steve Gillam - July 12, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Rejecting Armor to Embrace Your True Identity

Day 2: The Radical "I Am" That Defines Us

Day 3: The Shepherd’s Stones of Ordinary Faith

Day 4: When Kings Offer Armor (And Why To Decline)

Day 5: Giant-Slaying Starts With Lunch Duty

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Be - Rev. Steve Gillam - July 12, 2026

Share